Frequently, the filtering of impurities and other contaminants from a liquid or gas is a critical step in a manufacturing process. For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, the failure of a filter to remove impurities may have potentially devastating effects on public health. Thus, manufacturers must continually test the integrity of the filters they are using to ensure that the filters are operating satisfactorily.
Many devices for testing filters are available on the market. For example, Pall Corporation markets a filter testing device styled as the Integrity Test Kit FFE02 under the trademark Palltronic. This Palltronic filter testing device automatically tests a filter by means of the well-known pressure hold test procedure. The parameters for the test are entered via a keyboard on the Palltronic apparatus and the test is then automatically performed. A printer on the Palltronic device furnishes a record of all key test parameters and a report of the results of the test.